Ctjurrfjmatt 



Class'E>X5 < 
Book 3^1 
Copyright^? 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



5ty? ilaktttg of a (Eljitrrfjman 



BY 

ERNEST VINCENT SHAYLER 

Rector of Grace Church 
Oak Park 



Chicago, Illinois 
1908 

Copyright 1908. All rights reserved. 



IP ■ — 

LIBRARY of CONGRESS. 

Two Copies Received ' 

MAR a 1908 

( jopjntfm cntrjf 



With deep gratitude to 

The Reverend William Henry Young, M. A 
Vicar of All Saints, North Moreton 

and 

The Reverend Albert Barff, M. A. 
Vicar of St. Giles, Cripplegate 
and 

Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, London 

Through whom I was brought into the 
Kingdom of God 
And first taught its blessed truths. 



LC Control Number 




t*p96 031481 



THIS modest little book is issued because 
the writer has often felt a real need for it 
during his work in the Ministry. It is not in- 
tended to be a work of theology or erudition, 
but a simple statement of privilege and duty 
which may lead souls to the fuller enjoyment 
of both. 

It can be readily used as a basis for Con- 
firmation instructions publicly and privately, 
and by utilizing the review questions a 
thorough mastery of its contents may be 
acquired. Adults who cannot attend Confirm- 
ation classes can largely prepare themselves 
by its use. 

It offers to Christians of all names a practical 
statement of the Church's position to grant 
life, and shows them how to attain the bless- 
ings in store for them. It is definite without 
being controversial. It presents history with- 
out tediousness. It seeks to win rather than 
repel. 

If it shall help one soul, if it shall benefit 
the life of the Church for which Christ died, it 
shall not have appeared in vain. 

ERNEST VINCENT SHAYLER. 



Epiphany, 1908. 



Chapter. Page. 

1. Is there a God? 5 

2. Why I am a Christian 8 

3. Why did Christ come? 12 

4. The Kingdom Established 16 

5. The Life of Christ's Church 18 

6. Reformation in the Church 25 

7. Admission into the Kingdom 31 

8. Advancement in the Kingdom 39 

9. The Food of the Soul 44 

10. Officers of the Kingdom 48 

11. The Creed of the Kingdom 52 

12. The Laws of the Kingdom 61 

13. The Books of the Kingdom 64 

14. The Prayer of the Kingdom 69 

15. The Roman Catholic Position 74 

16. The Protestant Position 81 



iyepianatonj Appmbxx 

Prayers Out of a Book 93 

Vestments 95 

Postures 97 

Church Buildings 99 

A Correct Design of a Church 101 

Glossary of the Design 103 

Why? 105 

Statistics 108 

Suggested Duties and Devotions 109-118 



Ka QHpr* a (Soli? 



HIS is not a question which gives 



A great concern to the ordinary 
person, but it is a question about 
which some have anxious thought, and 
about which every- one should have 
strong convictions. The very name of 
God takes us away from physical 
things into the realm of the spiritual, 
or invisible, consequently any evidence 
of His existence given will be along 
the line of reasoning, rather than of 
objective impressions. 

In every one's life there is constantly 
heard a voice saying, "You ought/' 
or "You ought not. 57 The word ought 
conveys the idea of duty, or responsi- 
bility. Duty to whom? Responsibil- 
ity to whom? It is evident that re- 
sponsibility or duty is laid upon us by 
a Power other and greater than our- 
selves, which will call us to account. 
For instance, the nation, the state, the 
city, imposes duties and holds us re- 
sponsible. So in the realm of moral- 
ities. That Power which lays responsi- 




5 



bilities and laws upon us, and which is 
responded to by our innermost na- 
tures, we call God. When we came 
into being He existed. During the 
whole of our lives we are called to re- 
spond to His will, and when we pass 
away He still lives and governs men. 

Again we can argue from the source 
of created things, and find proof of the 
existence and character of God. 

"Where did I come from?" The 
answer necessarily says "somewhere." 
"How did all these things I see happen 
to be in the world?" "Some One made 
them, and placed them here. They 
could not have created themselves." 
"How does it happen that they are all 
for men's welfare?" A wise, personal, 
intelligent, loving Being created them 
for His children. 

This Being Who governs life, Who 
created all things to live according to 
His law, and Who maintains them out 
of His love to His children we call God. 
God is a personal Being, not a prin- 
ciple, such as integrity, righteousness 
or virtue. God has a perfect intellect 



6 



which we call Omniscience, and is not 
an impersonal thing we could call 
mind. God has a Father's love, and 
wisely bestows it upon all His chil- 
dren. He is therefore perfected per- 
sonal love rather than that imperfect 
element reflected in our affections. 

The story of the camel is appropri- 
ate. An Arab who slept soundly with 
his fellows during the night, said to 
to them in the morning, "A camel 
passed by last night." "Did you see 
it?" they queried. "No," was the an- 
swer, "but I saw tracks in the sand." 

God, who by all the powers of reason- 
ing can be found by every one who will 
seek him, Has not left us supplied with 
these and other deductive evidences, 
but has revealed Himself and His 
character in Jesus Christ. 

Thus our reasoning faculty must 
carry us back to God as the first cause 
of all created things, but He has pro- 
vided for man a more direct revelation 
of himself in his Son, Jesus Christ. 



7 



19% 3 Am a (ttljriattMt. 



Christian is one who believes in 



1 * Jesus Christ. The very date we 
place upon our letters and business 
documents, the existence of Christmas, 
Good Friday, and Easter, are all living 
evidences of the fact that Christ was 
born, that He died and rose again after 
death. All the pages of human history, 
either before or after His death, are 
prophetic or manifest glimpses of His 
earthly existence. His Church (which 
is here now) dates from His earthly life 
and labors, and is as conclusive an argu- 
ment of His existence as the American 
republic is a testimony to the origin 
and existence of the Declaration of 
Independence. 

These external facts, however, while 
proving His existence, might go no far- 
ther than to testify of His life, and yet 
not be a sufficient reason for believing 
in Him. A Christian believes that 
Christ was the revelation to men of 
God in visible form, for what Jesus 
was God is. God's dealings with men 




s 



in the earlier centuries might be inter- 
preted in various ways, from varying 
standpoints, but viewing the actions of 
Christ in the light of His own words, 
"I and My Father are One," we see re- 
vealed in Him the love, and patience, 
and character, of God. Hence, he who 
believes in God must believe in His 
revelation of Himself through His son. 
This belief is the primal essence of 
Christianity, which must then prove 
itself in conduct. 

This Christ then, if one with God, 
must be divine in substance, and could 
not have had an earthly father. The 
statement sometimes made, even 
among men who call themselves ortho- 
dox, or true Christians, that He was 
the natural son of Joseph and Mary, 
destroys His divinity, His authority, 
and power, and purpose; it stamps 
stigma upon His Name and accuses 
Him of many frauds and falsehoods. 

He came to forgive sins, and to give 
men power to overcome them. This 
was accomplished through His death 
and resurrection. But how could the 



9 



son of Joseph and Mary forgive sins 
by his death or in his life, or rise 
again after his crucifixion? If Christ 
was the natural son of this Jewish 
couple, what right had He to estab- 
lish a Church, which right belongs to 
God alone? What right had He to 
call for and to claim the spiritual al- 
legiance of men? 

Christ took human flesh of His 
mother and lifted up His humanity 
and ours by His divinity. He taught 
by His life the right methods of living, 
and held out the true characteristics 
of action which enable men to grasp 
and utilize the same. Then, in order 
to bestow upon all the coming genera- 
tions the inexpressible gift of such 
power and privilege, He established 
a Kingdom. This Kingdom, His 
Church was to be the repository of 
grace and its ministers the dispensers 
of the means of Grace for all people. 
For nearly nineteen centuries that 
Church has been bestowing the bless- 
ings of the divine into the human; 



10 



and countless saintly characters tes- 
tify to its power and efficacy. 

In every man's soul, in larger or 
lesser measure, all pardon, peace and 
inspiration have come and still do come 
from Him. It is a living and miracu- 
lous power which He communicates to 
those who seek it and use it. 

I am a Christian because I believe 
in the world's history and progress, 
and because I possess potentially the 
realization of the Christ life and power 
in all my yearnings and satisfactions. 



11 



Wl® Sft Otyrtfit (Bam? 



TV/TANY Christian people argue that 
A He came to earth to live and die 
for the souls of men. But surely there 
is another and larger reason, if we will 
only seek it. Some methods must 
have been provided by which His 
death could help men, and His life be 
continually communicated to theirs. 
To bestow these blessings He came to 
establish a Church (St. Matt. 16:18) 
which He loved to call His Kingdom. 
(St. Matt. 4:17, 12:28.) 

This Kingdom was the subject of all 
His parables (sermons), and He con- 
tinually told of the mode of entrance 
into it, the characteristics it should 
bear, and the benedictions it would 
provide for men. 

In these days of so many religions 
and churches (so called) it is well to 
note that there can be but one King- 
dom if there is only one King. If that 
King is Divine, the Kingdom must 
also be of divine origin and appoint- 
ment and imbued with divine life, 



12 



The Protestant theory is that a 
church can be established by any body 
of people associated for that purpose; 
that it has a right to make its own 
laws and empower its own men to act 
as its ministers. They really make an 
effort to gather together into their de- 
nomination those who have similar 
and agreeable opinions, instead of 
teaching to all who come the whole 
undivided, unchangeable truth of God. 
God's theory, the Bible teaching, the 
Christian world's acceptance of it for 
1,500 years after His earthly life, is 
that the Church is divine and only of 
Christ's appointment; that He must 
empower His commission, His minis- 
ters to represent Him as ambassadors 
to foreign lands definitely represent 
their government, rather than their 
own opinions ; that in that Church He 
provides for the souls of men in ways 
which He has created and ordered, 
and that He expects every one of 
God's children to live in it. 

If the Protestant theory be true, 
there are many Kingdoms and there 



13 



must be many Kings; but if Christ be 
true, there is only one Kingdom, and 
that one must prove its inception at 
the date when He established it, or 
about 1,900 years ago. The years 
1509, 1534, 1620, 1812, 1866, or any 
other years which mark the begin- 
ning of a religious organization prove 
them (whatever else they may be) to 
be not of Christ's foundation, and con- 
sequently not His Church. The Apos- 
tles' Creed calls it the Holy Catholic 
Church. In England it is called the 
Church of England, in Rome the 
Church of Rome, in Ireland the Church 
of Ireland, and in the United States it is 
called the American Church or the 
Episcopal Church. These facts are 
stated without emotion or prejudice, 
and being both rational and historical 
will appeal to the reason of every hon- 
est thinker. 

Christ likened His Kingdom to a 
grain of mustard seed, the smallest of 
seeds which became the largest of herbs. 
(St. Matt. 13:31, 32.) The Church 



was founded upon the twelve apostles, 
and now it is world wide. 

His Kingdom is like a dragnet. (St. 
Matt. 13:47 to 50.) The Church 
gathers both good and bad and the 
angels will separate the good men 
from the evil at the last day. 

The Kingdom is like leaven which a 
woman hides in three measures of 
meal. (St. Matt. 13:33.) The Church 
works spiritually in the lives of her 
children, unseen, but none the less real, 
expurging every atom of impurity and 
rendering them fit for the Master's use. 

In St. Matthew's Gospel, the phrase, 
"the Kingdom of God," or "the King- 
dom of heaven/' which means the 
same thing, is used more than seventy 
times. This Kingdom of God, which 
is a visible, divinely organized society, 
which our Lord established, is here 
now and is to remain forever. 



15 



TN Jerusalem about 30 A. D., 
A kindly remember the time and 
the place, Jerusalem, not Rome, nor 
London, nor Chicago — Jerusalem about 
30 A. D.; our blessed Lord told His 
ordained Apostles (St. Mark 3:14) 
that they were to do all things that 
He had commanded them, (St. Matt. 
28:19, 20.) He further instructed 
them to wait at Jerusalem for the 
coming (Acts 1:4) of the Spirit which 
He had promised. 

They patiently obeyed, and while 
they waited, the power of the Holy 
Spirit came upon them the first day of 
Pentecost, and they were empowered by 
the Holy Ghost to literally organize 
the Church. Read the inspiring ac- 
count of it in the whole of the second 
chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. 

Three thousand souls were admitted 
into it by baptism (Acts 2:41), and 
they continued in (1) the Apostles' 
doctrine, (2) the Apostles' fellowship, 
(3) the breaking of bread, and (4) the 

16 



prayers (Acts 2:42). Thus we see the 
intelligent record of the organization 
of the Christian Church and the means 
of gaining entrance into it. The four 
distinctive marks of it were: (1) the 
Apostles' Creed, or belief in God the 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost; (2) the 
Apostles' fellowship, that is, the min- 
istry of bishops, priests and deacons; 
(3) the breaking of bread, or the Holy 
Communion, the chief service of the 
Church; (4) the prayers; the form of 
prayer, the liturgy. 

In answering the question which is 
Christ's Church to-day, in view of the 
existence of so many different forms 
of religious societies which call them- 
selves churches, we must clearly see 
that only that one which holds to the 
Apostles' Creed in its entirety; only 
that one which has bishops, priests 
and deacons in its ministry; only that 
one which makes the Holy Eucharist 
the chief and central act of worship; 
only that one which uses the liturgy, 
is the one Christ ordained. 



i _ 



17 



Sty* m * of (ttlprtef a OH? urrt|* 



/^OD had been providing the way 
for the Church of Christ by organ- 
izing the Jewish Church, with its min- 
istry and sacrifices. It was a type of 
the Christian Church and had to be of 
Him. To-day the Church which pos- 
sesses the requirements which we see 
are necessary must not only manifest 
the four marks we have spoken of, 
but its ministry must have come down 
to us in an unknown line, and with 
unbroken power. We only need to read 
history impartially to discover this. 
Of necessity this review of history must 
here be brief. 

St. John, St. James and St. Peter 
were at Jerusalem that day of Pente- 
cost, and through them and their 
associates the Church spread through- 
out the world. St. John became the 
bishop of Ephesus and St. Peter be- 
came the bishop of Rome. St. John's 
disciple was Poly carp, who was made 
bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor by 
St. John. Then came Ignatius, bishop 



is 



of Antioch, and through the Church 
of Asia Minor the Church spread 
rapidly over Central and Northern 
Europe, and Irenaeus became bishop 
of Lyons, France, in 178 A. D., or 
only 78 years after the death of the 
Apostle John. The Church had been 
brought to Britain evidently by the 
same missionaries who had brought it 
to France, possibly by some of the 
Apostles, but certainly by Apostolic 
men, and in 303 A. D. the first British 
martyr, St. Alban, was sacrificed for 
the Christian cause. This British 
Church sent bishops and priests to the 
Council of Aries, France, in 314 A. D., 
and at Ariminum later, and was repre- 
sented at Nicea in 325, over which 
latter Council Constantine presided, 
he having been born in England. 

In 597, when Augustine, the repre- 
sentative of the Bishop of Rome, came 
to England to convert the pagan 
Saxons who lived on the South Coast, 
he found the Church already there. 
In St. Martin's Church, Canterbury, 
then standing, he baptized King Ethel- 



19 



bert. This church still exists and is 
ample refutation of the fact that the 
Roman See introduced the Church into 
Britain. Augustine returned to Aries 
after sometime and was consecrated 
bishop by Virgilius, Archbishop of 
Aries, and in Gallican or French or- 
ders. He then returned to Canter- 
bury. 

From his date until our own the 
name and date of every Archbishop 
of Canterbury of which Augustine 
was the first, is as plainly recorded 
and really connected as any list of 
the Presidents of the United States. 

When William the Conqueror be- 
came King of England in 1066 he 
brought prelates and priests from Nor- 
mandy. They were Roman in their 
allegiance and tendencies, for the power 
of the Bishop of Rome had grown 
largely during the previous 500 years 
and had expanded with the develop- 
ment of the Roman Empire. The 
Bishop of Rome assumed the title of 
Pope universal, in spite of the saying 
of Gregory, uttered nearly 500 years 



20 



before, " Whosoever calleth himself 
universal bishop let him be anathema. " 

The people of England vainly strug- 
gled against the growing domination 
of the Bishop of Rome, but they were 
practically helpless. In the reign of 
John, England was acknowledged to 
be a fief of Rome and the king himself 
subject to the Pope. The people then 
rose in their might and Magna Charta 
was drawn up and signed in 1215 A. D. 
It was partially the Church's declara- 
tion of independence, for it says in the 
very beginning, "The Church of Eng- 
land shall be free. " 

But not until March 31, 1534, did 
its bishops and clergy free their Church. 
They then passed this resolution, "The 
Bishop of Rome has no more spiritual 
jurisdiction in England than any other 
foreign bishop. " This was in the 
reign of Henry the Eighth. (To what 
extent he figured we shall state in our 
next chapter.) 

After this date societies of people 
left the Church and began to call them- 
selves Independents, Baptists, Presby- 



21 



terians, etc., thus losing the (^lurch's 
Creed, ministry, sacraments Hgr liturgy. 

In the reign of Edward the Sixth 
the first book of public worship in the 
English language, called the Book of 
Common Prayer, was published and 
used in 1549. This accomplished the 
doctrinal reformation, which had at 
all times since the Renaissance been 
a real problem. Queen Mary, who 
succeeded to the throne after the death 
of Edward, was a Roman Catholic. 
She placed herself and her people under 
the power of Rome, and Cardinal Pole 
was created papal legate, with full power 
in England. Mary's marriage with Phil- 
lip of Spain, an ardent Roman Catholic, 
still further increased the claims of 
Rome in England. 

Elizabeth was Queen after the un- 
happy reign of Mary and she restored 
the Church to its rightful heritage — 
i. e., to the position it held before Mary, 
before Henry, and before the papal 
usurpation. 

Subsequently the Church sent mis- 
sionaries to Virginia in 1607, and 



22 



the first Church in the land was then 
established at Jamestown, the Rev. 
Robert Hunt being its rector. For 
more than 150 years the Church strug- 
gled here as it did in its early days in 
Jerusalem, Europe and Britain, but 
finally Samuel Seabury, a priest in 
Connecticut, was elected bishop, and 
sent to England to be consecrated for 
the Church in the United States. The 
English bishops refused to officiate 
because they could not consecrate a 
bishop who would not swear fealty to 
the English King. Hence Seabury, 
an American, went to Scotland, and 
in Aberdeen, Nov. 17, 1784, he was 
consecrated by Bishops Kilgour, Petrie 
and Skinner. After his consecration 
Bishops White and Provost of Pennsyl- 
vania and New York, and Madison of 
Virginia, were consecrated bishops at 
the hands of their English brethren, 
the obnoxious provision having then 
been repealed. Through them the 
bishop of our own diocese, who now 
consecrates, ordains, confirms and 
governs, received his commission. This 



23 



is called Apostolic Succession, without 
which no man is legally authorized to 
officiate as a bishop, priest or deacon in 
Christ's Church. This whole subject, 
viewed in the light of history, receives 
its corroboration from history an 
forces its way into the convictions o 
those who openly seek the Truth. 



2 * 



Srformattott in tip (&tpm% 

HE word reformation clearly in 



A dicates that this movement was 
a rebuilding, a cleansing, an awaken- 
ing, a returning to original standards; 
and the title, that it was a movement 
from within the Church itself. This 
removes the question under considera- 
tion from that of the so-called " Protest- 
ant churches," which were organized 
during this period of the Church's 
struggles, or subsequent to it. (For 
discussion of this see the article upon 
The Protestant position.) 

The reformation is the religious 
phase of that general awakening in the 
15th and 16th centuries which stirred 
all Europe. In art and literature it 
was known as the Renaissance or new 
birth; within the Church it was called 
the Reformation. 

Its causes maybe ascertained through 
an impartial review of the history of 
that day, and the chief figures in its 
action are only incidental, not ele- 
mental. 




25 



Under John Wyclif (d. 1384) the fo 
gospels had been translated into Eng 
lish, and owing to the downfall of 
Constantinople, the manuscripts of the 
other writings had been scattered 
abroad and placed in the hands of the 
people. Comparisons between the 
rule of life, as set forth in the Gospels 
and in the early history of the Apos- 
tolic Church with the existing Western 
Church, were necessarily made with 
results much to the discredit of the 
latter. 

The Bishop of Rome having assume 
universal spiritual and temporal powers 
had become a hard master, particu- 
larly to the independent Anglo Saxon. 
This condition was all the more burden- 
some because the English people had 
endeavored to free themselves from 
this usurpation for several centuries. 

Without going into unnecessary his- 
toric detail, it is readily seen that 
Augustine (597) found the British- 
Church fully organized. Of this the 
Bishop of Rome was ignorant. Of 
course the settlement of Augustine as 



26 



Archbishop of Canterbury gave Rome 
a certain authority in England, and 
when William the Conqueror ascended 
the English throne (1066) he brought 
with him from Normandy many of the 
Roman faith in the persons of his 
clergy, but he refused to acknowledge 
the absolute right of the pope in the 
spiritual government of the English. 
It was not until the reign of John, when 
papal supremacy reached its greatest 
power under Innocent III, that the 
king submitted and acknowledged 
England "a fief of the papacy" (1213), 
as far as the action of the king could 
make it. 

There was immediate rebellion in the 
hearts of the English, and upon June 
15, 1215, the Magna Charta was 
signed by the king at the demand of the 
people. By it the independence of 
Church and State were alike proclaimed. 
In the initial sentence we read "The 
Church of England shall be free." 
This was three hundred years before 
Henry VIII. 

The struggle for the maintenance of 



27 



papal power against national and relig- 
ious freedom continued, however, until 
what is called the reformation period, 
when the yoke was positively thrown 
off. This occurred in the reign of 
Henry VIII, he being not the cause of, 
but an incident in the Reformation. 

Without tediousness we note the 
principal steps in this act of the drama. 
Henry, through a dispensation of the 
pope, was married to his brother's 
widow, Catherine of Arragon. In 
about a quarter of a century Henry 
desired to procure a divorce from her, 
and requested the then pope to annul 
this marriage which his predecessor by 
dispensation had allowed. Such a step 
would mean a breach of the papacy 
with the world power, Spain, as well as 
with other European kings. The pope 
refused to grant it by many and de- 
vious delays. 

During the negotiations between 
Henry and the Papacy, and also with 
the European universities, Thomas 
Cranmer was appointed Archbishop of 
Canterbury with the approval of Rome. 



28 



The annulment of the marriage with 
Catherine was afterward granted by 
the authorities of the English Church 
in convocation, upon the grounds that 
the marriage of Catherine with Arthur, 
Henry's brother, was valid, and there- 
fore the pope had no authority to set 
aside the divine law which forbad 
marriage with a brother's widow. Then 
the pope excommunicated Henry. After 
several important steps had been taken 
which decidedly curtailed Rome's 
power, the clergy of the Church, in 
Convocation assembled (1534), de- 
clared "that the bishop of Rome hath 
not any greater authority in England 
than any other foreign bishop." Thus 
the Church officially and actually re- 
turned to its former rights and inherit- 
ance. 

The clergy of the Church retained 
their positions, churches, titles and 
emoluments. The people said the same 
prayers and received the same sacra- 
ments. They had simply regained 
their ancient rights. 

Was this the establishment of a new 



29 



Church? Can any one, cognizant of 
these facts, maintain that Henry then 
established or founded the English 
or the Episcopal Church? 

Furthermore, the question of name 
enters into consideration. Before the 
establishment of the English nation the 
Church there was known as the British 
Church, but with the merging into one 
kingdom, the ecclesiastical title became 
the Church of England. All the early 
years of its independence it was called 
the Church of England. During the 
period, when most completely under 
Roman power, it was called the Church 
of England, and by that name it is now 
known and recognized. Never in all 
its existence was it called the Church 
of Rome. This is significant and con- 
clusive. 

This branch of Christ's Church 
brought its religious life to Jamestown, 
Virginia, in 1607, and gave to American 
bishops their commission, which the 
(Episcopal) Church still holds in un- 
broken authority and fullness of power. 



30 



A&mt00um Stota tip SCtttgtowtu 



HE Kingdom of God enforces upon 



A its members only those laws 
which Christ set forth Himself as ob- 
ligatory. These laws of life, unlike 
those of social or religious associations 
outside the Church, are intended for 
the larger life of all who obey them. 
The well balanced souls of men 
shrink from the curtailment of their 
God given rights, which is insisted upon 
by humanly ordered religious denom- 
inations. Particularly is this true of 
the younger people of our day. Many 
grow up altogether outside of religious 
influences, because they desire an en- 
joyment of the right and innocent 
privileges which belong to youth. 

If one desires admission to some 
religious body he is often expected to 
submit to an examination before a 
body of business men, called ' ' a session, ' } 
"a board," or a committee; or ex- 
pected to " experience" religion, " re- 
ceive the right hand of fellowship, " or 
make a profession of faith. How 




31 



different Christ's method which His 
Church retains in an unchanged fashion. 
" Repent and be baptized/' was the 
word which saved dying souls upon 
the great day of Pentecost, and it is 
the key of admission into the Church 
today. 

Nicodemus came to the Master and 
heard the words, " Except any one be 
born of the water and the Spirit he 
cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." 
(St. John 3:5.) The commission to 
the Apostles was, "Go ye therefore and 
teach all nations, baptizing them." 
(St. Matt. 28:19.) Again (Mark 16:16), 
"He that belie veth and is baptized 
shall be saved, but he that believeth 
not (sufficiently to be baptized) shall 
be damned; i. e., he that will not be 
baptized condemns himself to a life 
outside the privileges of the Kingdom 
of God. Simon believed and was bap- 
tized (Acts 8 :13) . When the scales fell 
from the eyes of Saul of Tarsus, he was 
baptized (Acts 9:18). The Phillipian 
jailer and his whole family were bap- 
tized for their salvation (Acts 16:33). 



32 



St. Peter emphasizes its importance 
when he says, " Baptism does also now 
save us." (1st Peter 3:21.) From 
these and many other statements in 
the Holy Scriptures and from the early 
Fathers this truth is plainly set forth. 

Fraternal organizations, such as 
Masons, Odd Fellows and the like, 
furnish an illustration which will be 
of much service. There is but one 
way of entrance into any of them, i.e., 
by initiation. One may learn all about 
the history of these societies, and wear 
the badge of any of them, but until one 
has undergone the initiatory rites he 
is not a member. How inconsistent to 
believe that one can become a member 
of the Kingdom of God, even if he 
calls himself a Christian, even if he 
knows all about the Bible, without 
initiation into it by Holy Baptism. 

The practical mind desires to know 
what benefits come in Baptism. The 
Church Catechism definitely calls it, 
"A death unto sin and a birth unto 
righteousness, for being by nature born 
in sin and the children of wrath, we are 



33 



hereby made the children of grace." 

Spiritual life is a gift. It is ex- 
traneous to physical life and must be 
brought from an outside source into 
that life. Every child born into the 
world possesses only that moral nature 
which its parents bestow upon it, and 
no human parent is morally, spiritually 
perfect. To grant that perfection, to 
bestow Divine life, Baptism is essential. 
Through it the birth of the Holy Spirit 
is completed in the soul. 

Theologians have called this moral 
imperfection ' c original sin. " Ther 
is no doubt (at least in the minds of 
parents) that it exists. No human 
being can forgive his own sin. It i 
inconceivable. Sin must be forgiven 
by Him whom we have trespassed 
against. Baptism conveys forgiveness 
of original sin. The child then grows 
up a free child of God, and the Spirit 
which washes away original sin in 
baptism is inborn at the moment of 
regeneration. 

We find here the reason why children 
should be baptized. Physical, mental, 



34 



and spiritual life should be developed 
in an orderly and God given way. 

Let us consider a few reasons why 
children should be baptized: 

1. Because when our Lord said, 
" Except any one be born again of water 
and the Spirit, he can not enter into 
the Kingdom of heaven/ ' He in- 
cluded in "any one" little children. 

2. When He commanded His Apos- 
tles "to baptize every creature/' He 
certainly included little children. 

3. Because infants were admitted 
by circumcision into membership of 
the Church of the old dispensation. 

4. Because children need the Spirit 
of God and freedom from original sin. 

5. Because this has been the custom 
during the years of the Church's exist- 
ence. 

Another phase of the subject should 
be here dealt with. What is the proper 
method of administering Holy Baptism? 
The application of water, "In the 
Name of the Father, and of the Son 
and of the Holy Ghost." None other 
is valid baptism. 



35 



The amount of water is a question 
which alone is the reason for the exist- 
ence of some denominations, and which 
raises the question of immersion. The 
Church says, and has always said, that 
the mode is of no consequence. It can 
be of no importance whether the quan- 
tity of water is small or great, the ques- 
tion is one of obedience to the will of 
God. With that breadth and tolera- 
tion which characterizes her every 
breath, the Book of Common Prayer 
says, "Then shall the minister dip 
him in the water, or pour water upon 
him (page 263). While pouring and 
immersion have always been the prac- 
tice of the Church, yet there is not one 
case of immersion which can be abso- 
lutely proven by the Holy Scriptures 
to the satisfaction of any one who reads 
or understands Greek, the language in 
which the New Testament was written. 

One other question which puzzles 
man)^ regarding baptism. They say, 
"I was baptized a Methodist, or a 
Presbj^terian, or a Congregationalist. 
Do I have to be rebaptized to come 



36 



into the Church? " The reply is, first 
be sure that you were baptized with 
water and with proper words. If you 
were, you were then baptized into the 
Kingdom of God. You were not bap- 
tized into a sect, or denomination, but 
by God's grace into His Church. But 
it would be best for j^ou, if you have 
the slightest doubt, to go to the parish 
priest for advice, and if he is not satis- 
fied let hypothetical baptism be ad- 
ministered, which will remove all doubt 
and scruple as to the validity of the 
former rite. 

What of the relation of baptized 
persons affiliated with the different 
denominations outside the Church? 
Baptism is the first step. Has the 
baptized person taken the second step, 
Holy Confirmation? Has the baptized 
person been fed with the Sacraments 
of the Church, and been guided and 
blessed by the Apostles' Ministry of 
bishops, priests and deacons? 

What is the privelege of being a 
member of your father's family if you 
forsake his home, and counsels, and 



37 



gifts? The answer to this question 
will suggest the path of duty for a 
baptized person not yet in full com- 
munion with the Kingdom of God. 



38 



T^VERY baptized person who be- 
^ lieves the Holy Scriptures ought 
to be confirmed. Many people are 
inclined to believe that Confirmation is 
merely an " Episcopalian' 9 ceremony, 
but surely such belief is father to the 
thought, the ready acquiesence of some 
interested person who makes the state- 
ment, or a sadly deficient knowledge 
of the Bible and the history of the 
Christian Church. 

Confirmation is the laying on of 
hands of an Apostle, or as we now term 
him, a bishop, by which outward sign, 
coupled with prayer, the recipient is 
endowed with the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. We all need this blessing, for 
the Spirit endows us with power, 
bestows upon us spiritual strength, 
which is indeed the supplying of a 
great need. Most men sin, not because 
they desire to do so, but because they 
are too weak to resist the temptation. 
In Confirmation God the Holy Ghost 
comes with His Almighty power. An 



39 



analysis of the word Confirmation 
clearly shows its definition, "to make 
strong.' ' 

From the earliest days it has been 
customary to lay hands upon the head 
to bestow blessing. It has been a uni- 
versal sign. Hence it is no wonder that 
the Apostles used it in obedience to 
Christ's commands, "teaching them to 
observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you." (St. Matt, 28:20.) 

The first recorded act of Confirmation 
by the Apostles was at Samaria (Acts 
8:14 to 18). Here we find the (bishops) 
Apostles laying their hands upon bap- 
tized persons, who thereupon received 
the Holy Ghost. 

Again we find in Acts 19:1 to 7 the 
Apostle Paul administering Confirma- 
tion to twelve men at Ephesus. The 
wTiter of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
enumerates "the laying on of hands" 
(Hebrews 6 :2) as one of the principles of 
doctrine of Christ. Confirmation then 
follows Baptism in the believer's life as 
supplementary or complementary to 
its' admission into the Kingdom of God. 



40 



It is even called by some "the coming 
of age" in the Church. 

There is little doubt but that St. 
Peter, on the day of Pentecost, when 
showing the way of life to the converts, 
speaks of Confirmation, when he says, 
" Repent and be baptized every one of 
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the 
remission of sins, and ye shall receive 
the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). 
The word "shall" indicates that the 
blessing shall be at a future time. The 
same is true of St. Paul's statement to 
the Ephesian Christians, "Ye were 
sealed with that Holy Spirit of 
promise" (in confirmation) (Ephesians 
1:13), and in many other similar words. 

The Christian Church for nineteen 
centuries has believed and practiced 
this benediction, endowment and seal- 
ing with the Spirit. 

This question naturally arises, how- 
ever, How is it that the great Christian 
denominations do not believe in, or 
practice Confirmation? The answer 
plainly is, that these bodies being of the 
Reformation or a later date, being 



41 



separate from the organized body of 
Christ, have no bishops through whom 
it can be administered. By acknowl- 
edging its existence, and believing 
what the Bible states regarding Con- 
firmation, it would be open acknowl- 
edgment of their lack of the divinely 
appointed ministry. 

To such baptized Christians the 
Church holds out Confirmation as the 
door by which entrance into the full 
communion of Christ's Church is as- 
sured and offered. If the sweet graces 
and deeply spiritual yearnings which 
many such persons already possess 
could be enriched by the gift of the Holy 
Spirit in Confirmation, what joy and 
peace, such as is only known by a 
complete surrender to Christ, would 
overflow their souls? 

"Are any new vow r s expected from 
those who are confirmed?" is a matter 
puzzling to many good people. We 
reply that in Baptism all necessary 
vows are taken, (1) Renunciation of 
the world, the flesh and the devil, 
(2) Belief in all the articles of the 



42 



Christian faith (i. e., the Apostles' Creed, 
(3) Obedience to God's holy will and 
commandments. These vows are rati- 
fied at Confirmation. 

The subject of age for Confirmation 
is quickly settled. Is any one too 
young or too old to receive any blessing, 
much more the blessing of God the 
Holy Ghost? 

Our blessed Lord was confirmed in 
the Jewish Church at the age of twelve 
(St. Luke 2:42 to 48), and it has been 
the custom of the English speaking 
portion of Christ's Church to confirm 
all baptized persons who have reached 
the age of moral discretion. 

Decision regarding the duty of Con- 
♦firmation may be quickly reached by 
any serious minded Christian who will 
listen to these words of Christ, "If any 
man will do His will he shall know of 
the doctrine." (St. John 7:17.) 



43 



Sty* $aab of tip &anl 



'"PHE soul as well as the body needs 
A food and sustenance, and God has 
graciously provided for its every need. 
The soul is born in Baptism, strength- 
ened in Confirmation and fed by the 
Holy Communion. This great Sacra- 
ment was instituted for the strength- 
ening and refreshing of our souls, and 
for a continual memorial of the sacrifice 
of the death of Christ. 

Christ ordained, and the Church has 
ever taught, that under the outward 
forms of bread and wine, duly conse- 
crated by a priest of the Church, those 
elements become the Body and Blood 
of Christ. As such they are our eternal 
and spiritual sustenance. 

Every evangelical Christian body 
holds a service w r hich is usually called 
"the Lord's Supper/' but they deny 
that there is any body of Christ in such 
commemoration. It is in memory of 
His death, not of His everliving pres- 
ence that they utilize it. It would be 
more appropriate to meditate upon a 

44 



picture of His Crucifixion than to eat 
break and drink wine if one merely 
desired to remember His death, and it 
certainly would be the emptiest for- 
mality to eat bread and drink wine 
together simply to remember Him. 
But we have no conflict or argument 
upon the subject. We will take Christ's 
own words, which, unless they are per- 
versely interpreted, state the Church's 
practice and acceptance. 

Our Lord says, " Except ye eat the 
flesh of the Son of Man and drink His 
blood ye have no life in you." (St. 
John 6:53.) 

Then in the night in which He was 
betrayed He took bread, and brake it 
and said, "Take, eat, this is My Body. 
This is My Blood. " (St. Mark 14 :22-24.) 

St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corin- 
thians in speaking of the Blessed 
Sacrament says, "Whosoever shall eat 
this bread and drink this cup of the 
Lord unworthily (not discerning the 
Lord's body) shall be guilty of the 
Body and Blood of the Lord. (1 Corin- 
thians 11:27 to 29.) 



45 



We have only to ask ourselves (with 
reverence), "Did our Lord mean what 
He said?" "Did St. Paul mean what 
he said?" 

Attempts to define how this is per- 
fected has led many into philosophical 
difficulties. It is, however, undoubt- 
edly a great sin to deny it, and its 
acceptance, although shrouded with 
mystery and awe, does not require a 
greater act of faith than to believe that 
under the outward forms of food and 
drink invisible strength and life are 
given. 

Queen Elizabeth's definition is good 
enough for all of us. 

"Christ was the Word that spake it, 
His was the hand that brake it, 
And what that Word doth make it, 
That I believe and take it." 

This Sacrament is spoken of in the 
Bible and Prayer Book in four different 
ways, each one symbolizing one of its 
phases. 

1. The Holy Communion; th 
Union of God and man in the Sacra- 
ment. 



46 



2. The Lord's Supper; the par- 
taking of the consecrated elements. 

3. The Breaking of Bread; the 
manual acts of consecration. 

4. The Eucharist ; the thanksgiving 
feature. * 

We here repeat our Lord's own words 
" Whosoever will do His will he shall 
know of the doctrine. " (St. John7:17.) 



47 



5H|* (§ft\mB of t\}t Kittgfcmt. 



T^VERY Kingdom has its appoint- 
ed officers who receive their 
commission and authority from the 
King under whom they serve, and who 
are the leaders of the loyal subjects 
of the King. They do not receive their 
authority from beneath but from above, 
and according to the King's commands 
and desires. 

The officers in Christ's Kingdom 
must hold their department commis- 
sions from Him and not from the people. 
They compose the sacred ministry. 
The ministry embraces a three-fold 
order, bishops, priests and deacons. 
We repeat that they are set apart by 
God's authority and are not selected by 
the people or commissioned by them- 
selves. 

Here the Church of Christ differs 
widely from the ministry of the Prot- 
estant denominations. These latter 
receive their authority from their peo- 
ple, or in some instances in response to 
what they believe to be a divine call 



48 



act as ministers. This is an idea 
totally subversive of the rules of good 
government and good reason. If a 
man felt himself to be a good soldier 
and thereupon appointed himself an 
officer in the army of the United States, 
or if the soldiers of a regiment appoint- 
ed or elected an officer for themselves 
without references to the government, 
what would be the verdict of the 
government or of the whole people 
regarding the matter? There can be 
but one answer. It would be regarded 
as an usurpation of power which ought 
to be promptly quelled. And no man 
in the Kingdom of God can be a bishop, 
priest or deacon without Christ's com- 
mission through those deputized to act 
for Him, viz., His Apostles or bishops. 
This is in no sense a denial of the fact 
that Protestants are not all they claim 
to be, but it is a repetition of the state- 
ment that they are not true ministers 
in the one true Church of Christ. 

Notice how the threefold is the 
perfect. God the Father, Son and 
Holy Ghost, the three in one, made 



49 



man (body, mind and spirit, three in 
one) in His own likeness. Again the 
perfected family is threefold, father, 
mother and child. In the old Jewish 
Church there was high priest, priest 
and levite, a threefold order. In 
Christ's day there was, Our Lord, the 
Apostles and the Disciples, a threefold 
order. Since the day of Pentecost, 
when the Spirit was guiding into full 
truth, there have been bishops or Apos- 
tles, presbyters or priests, and deacons, 
a threefold order. 

No one doubts the existence of 
Apostles or bishops in the New Testa- 
ment. The twelve, St. Paul, St. Bar- 
nabas, St. Timothy and others were 
Apostles or bishops. The Greek word 
"presbuteroi," meaning presbyters, or 
priests, is of frequent occurence in the 
New Testament. (Acts 11:30, 14:23, 
15 :4-6, 16 :4 ; Titus 1 :5, where it is trans- 
lated in English as elders.) 

The special institution of deacons 
(ordained men) is found in Acts 6:1-7. 

Thus we see Scriptural authority 
for the existence of the threefold orders. 



50 



For their commission and powers see 
St. John 20:21 and St. Matt. 28:20, 
18:18. 

History affirms the unbroken exist- 
ence of such ministry down unto our 
own times and this as has been said 
before is calld the Apostolic Succes- 
sion. It would be vainglory to em- 
phasize a mere possession, but Apostolic 
Succession has a real and vital value. 
Certain powers belong to certain men 
who possess certain offices and spirit- 
ual powers pertain in the succession of 
Apostles or bishops. There can be no 
doubt of the legality and validity of 
any official ministerial act in the King- 
dom of God performed by one in the 
true line of the Apostles. You may be 
confident that you have been validly 
baptized, or confirmed, and that Holy 
Communion administered has every 
endowed virtue if received from one of 
those to whom Christ said "I am with 
you always, even unto the end of 
the world. " (St. Matt. 28:20.) 



51 



HEN any one is admitted into 



v w the Kingdom of God by Holy 
Baptism, the Apostles' Creed is publicly 
avowed as the profession of faith, if a 
child through its sponsors, or if an 
adult, in person. "Dost thou believe 
all the articles of the Christian Faith as 
contained in the Apostles' Creed?" is 
asked. "I do," is the answer. This 
comprehensive statement of the Christ- 
ian Faith is an expansion of that one 
given by the Master in His command 
for Baptism, when He said, "In the 
Name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost." 

This Creed is stated almost in its 
entirety by St. Peter in his sermon on 
the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and was 
most surely believed by the Apostles. 
Every one of its statements is most 
conclusive^ proven by the New Testa- 
ment, which shows the belief of the 
Church in those early days. 

It differs in many particulars from 
confessions of faith as set forth by 




52 



Protestant Christian bodies, but in 
none so much as that it is a clear, con- 
cise statement of facts, and not of 
opinions. That is, in its acceptance a 
man takes his spiritual stand upon 
those things which are absolutely cer- 
tain, and which have been conclusively 
manifested. 

In the earliest centuries it was held 
as a complete symbol of the Faith in 
almost the same words as the Church 
holds it to-day, and when the Nicene 
Creed was set forth in 325 A. D., the 
latter was only a fuller and more ex- 
planatory statement of the main arti- 
cles of the Creed in question. 

Before beginning our short analysis 
of it, we gladly acknowledge its use by 
many Christians outside the Church 
Its quotations and rendering in a 
shortened and often defective way, 
raises a question in thoughtful minds, 
because the entire symbol is not fully 
stated as a fixed belief. This robs it of 
at least a portion of its revelation and 
blessing. 



53 



The Creed, article by article, with 
brief explanation: 

"I believe in God the Father Al 
mighty, Maker of heaven and earth." 

The first chapter of this volume, 
entitled "Is there a God?" will appeal 
to the reader's intellect in this connec- 
tion. Also the first words in the Bible, 
"In the beginning God created the 
heavens and earth." (Genesis 1:1.) 

"And in Jesus Christ, His only Son 
our Lord." (St. Matt. 1:20.) 

"Born of the Virgin Mary." (St. 
Luke 2:7.) 

"Suffered under Pontius Pilate." (St. 
Mark 15:15.) 

"Was crucified dead and buried." 
(St. John 19:19 to end.) 

"He descended into hell." (1st St. 
Peter 3:18-19.) 

This latter phase means that our 
Lord's Spirit entered into the place of 
departed spirits (the hidden place) at 
His death. It certainly does not 
designate "hell" (gehenna), the place 
of torments. It means "Abraham's 
bosom," as in the parable of the rich 



54 



man and Lazarus. (St. Luke 16:22.) 
It means " Paradise/ ' as when our Lord 
said to the dying thief, " To-day shalt 
thou be with me in Paradise. " (St.Luke 
23:43.) The same state is referred to 
when the Scriptures record that Jesus 
after His death, by the Spirit, preached 
to the Spirits in prison. (1st St. Peter 
3:18-19.) 

"The third day He rose again from 
the dead.' 7 (St. Matt. 28:9-10.) 

This is the best authenticated fact in 
all history. Two of the undying 
proofs are (1) The observance of Sun- 
day, the Lord's day, instead of the 
Saturday or Jewish Sabbath. Our 
Lord rose from the dead upon the first 
day of the week. (2) The existence of 
the Christian Church. Upon no other 
ground could the Church exist. If our 
Blessed Lord did not rise again there 
could be no reason for the Church's 
establishment and continued life. If 
death was the end of His work He was 
merely a defeated prophet and died in 
failure. If He did not rise again, all 
Christians are offering prayers and 



55 



praises to a dead and discredited man. 

"He ascendeth into Heaven, and 
sitteth on the right hand of God the 
Father Almighty." (Acts 1:9.) 

k 'From thence He shall come to 
judge the quick and dead." (Acts 1:11.) 

"I believe in the Holy Ghost. " (Acts 
2:3.) 

-The Holy Catholic Church: the 
Communion of Saints." (Acts 2:47), 
(Ephesians 4:4-5-6.) 

The Church is Holy because its Head 
and Founder Jesus Christ is Holy and 
because it leads its members towards 
holiness of life. It is also holy because 
that word means wholly, i. e., alto- 
gether Catholic. The same in doctrine 
in its early days and to-day — unlike 
the Jewish Church, which was limited 
to one family, it comprises in its mem- 
bership all nations and kindreds, and 
peoples, and tongues. 

Note. — (The word Catholic cannot 
mean Roman because Roman is a limi- 
ted term and Catholic is universal. 
Hence while Roman Catholics are 
Catholics, so also are the Eastern 



56 



Churchmen Catholics and the English 
speaking Christians (sometimes called 
in America, Episcopalians) Catholics. 
It is a grievous error to bestow that 
title only upon those under the juris- 
diction of the Pope of Rome, and such 
use implies a serious lack of knowledge 
of Church History.) 

In this Catholic Church is the Com- 
munion of Saints, for the two phrases 
are one statement of faith. A saint 
is one set apart. We are all called 
to be saints by our Baptism, in the 
Church. Those now living in the 
Communion of Saints on earth are in 
the Church militant. Those departed 
in that faith, now in Paradise waiting 
for the Resurrection, are in the Church 
expectant, and those in Heaven are in 
the Church Triumphant. Between the 
members of the Church as designated 
there is a constant Communion in and 
through Christ, the Head of the whole 
Church. 

"The forgiveness of sins." (St. Matt. 
9:2.) No man can forgive his own 
sins. They must be forgiven by one 



57 



who has the power. Again we see here 
the supreme value of a ministry of 
Apostolic Succession to whom Christ 
has committed this very power. 

Sin — yes it is real, not an illusion of 
the mortal mind, for Christ came on 
earth to save sinners. He forgave them 
their sins, and by His ministry and 
sacraments He still on earth grants 
this blessed gift of forgiveness. Sins 
are forgiven in Baptism (see Acts 22 :16), 
in Holy Communion (see St. Matt. 
26:28), in Absolution by those author- 
ized to use it. (See St. John 20:23 and 
St. Matt. 18:18.) 

"The Resurrection of the Body." 

Christ who is the first fruits rose again 
from the dead with His body. The 
body, mind and spirit is a complete 
personality. Bereft of any one of 
these a man is not perfect. If a man 
shall be perfect in the life to come he 
must have a body. The promise, the 
proof, the possession of a body after 
death is to be found in our great Elder 
Brother's experience. No less than 
eleven times was He seen after rising 



58 



from the dead. (1.) To Mary Mag- 
dalene (St. John 20:14). (2.) The 
other women (St. Matt. 28:9). (3.) 
To St. Peter (St. Luke 24:34). (4.) At 
Emmaus (St. Luke 24:31). (5.) To the 
disciples (St. John 20:19). (6.) To St. 
Thomas and the ten (St. John 20:26). 
(7.) To seven Apostles (St. John 21:2). 
(8.) To five hundred at one time (1st 
Cor. 15:6). (9.) To St. James (1st Cor. 
15:7). (10.) To St. Paul (1st Cor. 15:8). 
(11.) At His ascension (St. Luke 24:51). 

"The Life Everlasting" (St. John 
3:16). There is a well known law of 
physical science, "whatever is, is." 
Nothing can cease to exist. It may 
change its form, but the substance is 
ever present. The rock which has ex- 
isted from the beginning of the world 
may change its form, be broken to 
pieces, ground to dust, made into con- 
crete, but it is indestructible. The 
same is true of human life. Once God 
given it is eternal, though countless 
ages may unceasingly change its form 
and plan of operation. The life we 
live is everlasting; the quality of that 



59 



everlasting life depends upon the fash- 
ion and measure in which God enters 
and dwells within it. 



60 



^HESE laws are few, but ten in 
A number, yet they are fundamental. 
No man can live a full life and 
violate any of them, because they are 
in their spirit the essence of God's 
character. We call them the ten com- 
mandments. They are the twofold 
expression of right living towards God 
and towards our neighbors. 

They were first revealed to Moses 
(Exodus 20) and have since formed the 
basis of all moral and civil law. Yet 
they transcend in importance all civil 
law because they deal not merely with 
the outward conduct, but with the inner 
essence and purpose of life. 

God has endowed every perfected 
body with ten fingers. They are in 
plain sight and should be continual 
reminders of the complete expression 
of His law. We briefly enumerate the 
ten commandments (1) One God only; 
(2) That God to be reverently wor- 
shiped; (3) His Name (the symbol of 
His personality) to be honored; (4) 



61 



His day (one in seven) kept holy; (5) 
Obedience to parents, natural, civil 
and spiritual; (6) No murder, in 
thought, word or deed ; (7) No impur- 
ity; (8) No dishonesty; (9) No un- 
truthfulness; (10) No covetousness. 

Violation of any of these laws en- 
tails serious consequences, upon the 
violator the first of all. His life is 
marred by any infraction of them. He 
sins against himself, his God and his 
neighbor. The man truly lives who 

(1) acknowledges God, who is the life; 

(2) worships Him truly; (3) honors 
His Name; (4) keeps His day; (5) is 
a good child, citizen, Christian; (6) 
Loves ; (7) is pure ; (8) is honest ; (9) 
is true; (10) is contented. 

It should be noted that the Church 
recognizes only great principles in- 
stead of petty details in this code of 
laws. She endeavors to grant to her 
children the larger life rather than a 
restricted one, hedged about with man 
made devices and proscriptions. She 
pronounces no judgment upon inno- 
cent pleasures and joyful conduct. 



62 



She cannot say, in the light of truth, 
that it is a sin to wear clothing of a 
special kind or that one innocent recre- 
ation is right or another wrong. Know- 
ing her children to have various needs, 
temperaments and sources of joy she 
allows them to use any and all which 
are not sinful. She realizes that it ob- 
literates true nobility of character 
when life is circumscribed by petty 
human rules, and so reiterates her 
Master's spirit in His own words, "Ye 
shall know the Truth and the Truth 
shall make you free." 



63 



T^ROM the degree of authority that 
the Holy Bible seems to possess 
for a great many earnest people, and 
from the large measure in which it 
serves many as a guide to duty and 
devotion, it is strangely true that the 
vast majority of its readers have no 
adequate conception of the purpose it 
is intended to serve, the authority 
which it holds and the source from 
whence it came. The Bible is the book 
or the books of the Kingdom. The 
Old Testament contains thirty-nine 
different books and the New Testament 
twenty-seven, making sixty-six in all. 

The Old Testament or Covenant 
deals with God's relation to His chosen 
people, the Jews, through His Church 
in their day. It was written by many 
different writers, covering a period of 
hundreds of years. It tells of man's 
creation, fall, and the efforts of God for 
his redemption through the Church. 

The patriarchs unto Moses mark the 
guiding hand of God in the preparation 

64 



of that Church, as the ministry of 
Christ and His disciples was the prepa- 
ration for the new Kingdom which ful- 
fils the old. Moses took the formative 
steps, under divine command, to es- 
tablish and organize a Church with its 
ministry and sacrifices. The historical 
books conclusively show the dangers to 
the Church of schisms entering in and 
almost destroying it. The poetical 
books, or at least the Psalms, give us 
the public worship of the Church, 
while the prophets are generally the 
great preachers of the Church during 
the historic period. 

The New Testament in the Gospels 
tells of the preparation for, the coming 
of the King, and the ordination of 
the chief officers in the Kingdom. 
The Acts of the Apostles are a his- 
tory of the first thirty years of the 
Church's organized life. The Epis- 
tles to the various Churches are the 
letters written by St. Paul to guide the 
Churches, which he had established by 
command of the Spirit, or, in the case 
of the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, 



65 



are directions for the bishops of Anti- 
och and Crete in the management of the 
Church over which God had placed 
them. 

The general Epistles of James, Peter, 
John and Jude are directions for Chris- 
tian living to members of the Church 
everywhere. The book of the Revela- 
tion of St. John, the divine, is a vivid 
picture of the Church's earthly strug- 
gles, and the glorious vision of the per- 
fected Church beyond the veil. 

So that in all things this Word of God 
is not intended as a guide for the found- 
ing of Churches, but a record of 
Church life. How feeble then is the 
statement of many that "our Church 
is built upon the Bible/ ' The Church 
came first, the Bible afterwards. 

In ignorance of this its meanings are 
controverted, misinterpreted and mis- 
applied. Its inner soul can be perceived 
only when viewed in proper relation 
to the above facts. The Bible tells 
historically of the organization of the 
Church, the institution of its ministry 
and Sacraments, and is the final rule 



66 



of faith in determining whether the 
life and doctrines of the Church are 
correct. The Church came first, the 
Bible afterwards. The Church which 
Christ founded gave the Bible to the 
world in the records of its own history. 

Definitely the gift was made in this 
fashion. In a council of the Church in 
Carthage, Africa, held in 397 A. D., the 
many writings relative to our Lord's 
life and work and the labors of the 
Apostolic men were gathered together. 
This council, guided by the Holy 
Ghost, rejected all except the sixty-six 
referred to, and ordered in its official 
capacity that they should constitute 
the canon of Sacred Scriptures. That 
closed the whole matter and while 
strange doctrines have appeared, it is 
as unconceivable to think that another 
book could be added to the canon as it 
would be to think that another com- 
mandment could be added to the 
decalogue. 

Upon this conception rests the value 
of the interpretation. Only the Church 
which wrote can adequately or wisely 



67 



interpret those writings. Hence the 
unwisdom of accepting interpretations 
from those who understand not its 
spirit, and whose organized religious 
life is at variance with its plainest 
teachings. 

To believe in the Bible is to believe 
in its entirety, and such belief neces- 
sarily carries with it the acceptance of 
the Divine Church and its Sacraments. 



68 



Pragw of tfy? Kt«g&om. 



/^\UR Father, who art in heaven, 
^ Hallowed be thy Name. Thy 
kingdom come. Thy will be done on 
earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this 
day our daily bread. And forgive us 
our trespasses, As we forgive those who 
trespass against us. And lead us not 
into temptation; But deliver us from 
evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the 
power, and the glory, for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

This prayer was given us by our 
Blessed Lord Himself, in response to 
the petition of His disciples, "Lord 
teach us to pray." It is at once His 
interpretation of true prayer and His 
sanction of forms of prayer. 

11 Out Father ) who art in Heaven" 

This petition teaches us that we are 
God's children, and not only we, but 
all other living souls. Our Father will 
give us all we need, and He desires that 
we shall love all His other children — 
our brothers and sisters. This Father is 



60 



in Heaven far removed from the 
limitations and imperfections and 
weaknesses of earthly parents, and yet 
near enough to help us in every hour 
of need. 

"Hallowed be Thy Name." 

That is, in all things let God's name 
be made holy. Let all we do be for the 
glory of God. A name indicates per- 
sonality. He is a personal God, not 
pantheistic, not a principle, such as 
virtue and integrity, although these 
are some of His characteristics. He 
is not merely mind, but possesses 
Omniscience and is all Knowing. 

"Thy Kingdom Come" 

This means that the principles of 
His Kingdom, love, peace, joy, etc., 
may live within us. And also that they 
who know Him not, may be won to Him 
through His Kingdom. Every one who 
prays this prayer should arise from 
his knees and go forth to bring one 
person unto the Kingdom of God — 
which is His Church. 



70 



"Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven." 

In heaven the angels, ministering 
spirits, always perform God's will, per- 
fectly and unquestioningly. God's will 
is made known to us through our con- 
science, through His word, the Holy 
Bible, through the laws of nature, and 
through the Church. What the Church 
commands, the Bible teaches, and our 
consciences approve is God's will. We 
should meet His will, so expressed, 
with gladness and yield joyful acqui- 
escence. Only by doing God's will can 
peace be found in this life or any other 
life. 

"Give us this day our daily bread" 

A request that God will give us all 
needful things of body and soul. We 
need no luxuries but daily sustenance. 
Nearly all our cares, anxieties, troubles, 
are in reference to our luxuries and not 
our necessities. Nervous troubles and 
mental disturbances usually result be- 
cause we forget that we have enough 
for to-day. This day is the only day. 



71 



Yesterday has gone, to-morrow is 
never here. We also pray for that- 
spiritual bread of Christ which is given 
us in the Holy Communion. 

"And forgive us our trespasses as we for- 
give those who trespass against us" 
Trespasses are wrong steps, or steps 
out of the way of God's command- 
ments. Christ also calls them debts 
because we have failed to pay our due 
to God, that is duty. But we ask God 
to forgive us only as we forgive those 
who trespass against us. God will for- 
give us our sins if we repent and con- 
fess them and forgive others. 

"And lead us not into temptation; but 
deliver us from evil" 
Temptation is not sin unless we 
yield to it. When we are tempted we 
are merely tested, in order that we may 
see how strong or how weak we are, 
and in order that we may win the vic- 
tory over temptation. Our Lord was 
tempted but he did not fall. Tempta- 
tions are from three sources (1) the 
world, (2) the flesh, and (3) the devil. 



72 



The world in which we live has in it 
much evil. This environment is ever 
around us and is constantly tempting 
us to yield to its claims. The flesh is 
our physical nature which so often 
clamors for recognition and mastery. 
To eat, to drink, to play, to sleep, to 
work are physical necessities, but when 
the flesh urges the importance of these 
things as greater than God-given duties, 
we are tempted by the flesh. The 
devil is the evil spirit which suggests 
evil thoughts and evil deeds. God allows 
us to be tempted in these three ways 
so that we may be stronger by resisting 
the evil. Hence w^e pray to be deliv- 
ered from evil. 

"For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power 
arid the Glory for ever and ever. 
Amen." 

This ascription of praise, or the dox- 
ology, testifies of our thanks for God's 
love and answers to our prayers; He 
being Almighty, is possessed of all the 
power to do those things we ask or 
think, and His is the glory resultant 
from the union of our wills with His 
will. Amen. So be it. 



78 



Sty* Soman (Eatfaltr jPoattum* 



/^\UR Roman Catholic brethren deny 
that the Church commonly called 
the Episcopal Church is a Catholic 
Church. This denial is made because 
the latter is not in communion with 
the See of Peter, as they designate the 
jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome. 
They insist that St. Peter was the first 
pope; that upon him the Church was 
built; and that union with him or his 
infallible successor is necessary to 
Catholicity. 

Basing our first argument upon the 
records in the Holy Bible we deny that 
any special position such as claimed 
was ever given to St. Peter. There is 
therein no evidence that he was the 
head of the Church on earth, there is 
no evidence that one whit of power was 
given to him by our Lord, which was 
superior to that given to the other 
Apostles. 

Should this be true (and one can 
readily verify it by reading the New 
Testament) it is plainly evident that 

74 



the present Roman position has been 
assumed at a time long since the days 
of the Apostolic band. 

True Catholicity was then not held 
as union with Rome, but union with 
Christ in and through His Kingdom, 
and this conception was held for cen- 
turies afterwards. The Church of 
Rome undoubtedly has the valid min- 
istry of bishops, priests and deacons, 
yet so has the orthodox Greek Church. 
This is also true of what is known as 
the Anglican or English speaking Com- 
munion of the Church of Christ (known 
as the Church of England in England, 
and the Episcopal Church in the United 
States), which has preserved the min- 
istry, the creeds, the sacraments and 
the liturgy. 

" Whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
earth shall be bound in heaven; and 
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven. " (St. Matt. 
16:19.) These words our blessed Lord 
addressed to St. Peter, but He also 
extended the same promise and the 
same power to all the other Apostles. 



75 



(St. Matt. 18:18.) Upon the evening 
of the first Easter day when the risen 
Lord appeared to the Apostolic band 
He endowed them all with an equal 
power. (St. John 20:23.) These state- 
ments are worth considering, and 
are proof of our contention that there 
is in Scripture no authority bestowed 
upon St. Peter which was not equally 
given to the other Apostles. 

Passing this over, the Roman Cath- 
olic claims as the supreme proof of his 
argument (St. Matt. 16:18). "I say 
unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon 
this rock I will build my Church." 
The exact rendition, using the Greek 
words to indicate the difference, is 
Thou art "Petros" and upon this 
"Petra" I will build my Church. This 
change of form indicates change of 
gender. Petros means a stone, or de- 
tached rock; Petra means the rock 
itself. Hence it can be read, "Thou art 
a man of the Rock and upon the Rock 
I will build My Church." The Church 
was builded upon our Lord Jesus 
Christ as a matter of fact, and not 



76 



upon St. Peter. When we read in 1 
Cor. 10:4 "That Rock was Christ/' it 
is still further explained. 

Some further light upon this subject 
can be obtained by a glance at the 
subsequent writings in the New Tes- 
tament. This, to prove whether St. 
Peter exercised a supremacy or whether 
any of the Apostles behaved in such 
fashion as would be necessary, if he 
were the supreme head. 

Immediately before our Lord's Cru- 
cifixion, St. Peter denied Him, saying, 
"I know not the man." By those in 
authority at Jerusalem he was sent 
with St. John to confirm a class at 
Samaria (Acts 8). Can you imagine 
the college of cardinals at Rome send- 
ing the present pope to confirm a class 
at Venice? At the council of Jerusa- 
lem (Acts 15:6-20), St. Peter debated 
the question with others while St. 
James gave the judicial decision 
proving the latter to be the president 
of the council. Can you imagine that at 
Rome to-day? 

The first of the Epistles to be found 



77 



in the New Testament is one to the 
Christians at Rome, which was written 
by St. Paul. If Peter had been pope 
of Rome at that time, could St. Paul 
have counseled the Church there, as to 
its life and doctrine, i. e., would St. 
Peter have allowed it? In the close of 
that Epistle, chapter 16 (read it care- 
fully) all the principal Roman Chris- 
tians are called by name. St. Peter is 
not mentioned. There is only one ra- 
tional inference. St. Peter was not 
then Supreme Pontiff, nor even bishop 
of Rome. Whatever may have devel- 
oped afterwards, there is no direct 
evidence in the Holy Bible that St. 
Peter ever was at Rome. 

The first general council of the 
Church was called at Nicea by the 
emperor Constantine, not by the bishop 
of Rome, A. D. 325. The chairman of 
that council was Hosius, bishop of 
Cordova. Ts it then likely that the 
Roman bishop was Supreme in 325? 

The bishop of Constantinople, 589 
A. D., was the first person to assume 
the title of Universal Bishop. Gregory, 



7S 



the then Bishop of Rome, writes to 
him condemning his action, and says, 
"No one of my predecessors/' i. e., 
bishop of Rome, "consented to use so 
profane a term (universal bishop). 
The sole head of the Universal Church 
is Christ." 

By the year 1294 the idea and power 
had grown in the minds of Gregory's 
successors until we find Pope Boniface 
VIII, announcing himself universal pon- 
tiff, that he had supreme temporal 
and spiritual authority, and that sub- 
mission to the pope was absolutely 
necessary to salvation. At the council 
of Trent a new creed embodied the 
doctrines enumerated at that council, 
and gave to the Roman Catholic 
Church a new name, "The Holy Ro- 
man Church, the Mother and Mistress 
of all Churches. " Even here the pres- 
ent doctrine of the infallibility of the 
Pope was not promulgated nor created. 
It remained for the year 1870 to wit- 
ness the culmination of this departure 
from Apostolic belief and practice, and 
to proclaim the infallibility of the Pope 
of Rome. 



79 



Many devout Catholics in Europe 
then in communion with Rome re- 
jected this dogma, and maintaining 
their own orders and churches, have 
since been organically known as the 
Old Catholic Church. 

In view of this and other develop- 
ment of doctrines, it is clearly evident 
that the faith once delivered to the 
Saints, is in many respects different 
to that of the Roman Catholic Church, 
and that it is possible to possess Christ's 
appointed ministry and sacraments 
and remain outside of the bosom of 
Rome. 

Every one speaks of the Holy Or- 
thodox Church of the East as the 
Greek Catholic Church, therefore why 
should not the English speaking branch 
of Christ's Church possess and be ac- 
corded the same rights and privileges? 



80 



Sty* -Protestant PoBttum. 



npHE bewildering number of Prot- 
estant denominations bears am- 
ple testimony to the fact that they are 
the creations of some man or woman; 
or else societies in which mutually 
agreed people associate themselves. 
As a fact of history none of them dates 
back to the days of the Apostles, and 
justly cannot be claimants for the 
title of the Christian Church, i. e., es- 
tablished by Christ's command. 

The Lutherans cannot antedate 
Luther, the Calvinists Calvin, the Meth- 
odists the first Methodist, nor Congre- 
gationalism the father of Congrega- 
tionalists. By common consent these 
and others of more or less influence 
and orthodoxy do not antedate the 
Reformation. 

We here append a few historical 
dates. John Calvin, the acknowledged 
father of Presbyterianism was born in 
1509. The system of modern Presby- 
terianism is dated 1541. Martin 
Luther was an Augustinian monk when 



81 



he published his famous thesis, Oct. 
31, 1517. About that time Robert 
Brown was the founder of the Inde- 
pendents, or Congregationalist denom- 
ination, and John Robinson, became the 
father of American Congregationalists, 
about 1607. An eminent author gives 
the date of the Baptists as 1644 and 
the Methodists 1739. Some of the 
more modern are the Universalists, by 
John Murray, in 1775, and the Camp- 
bellites by Alexander Campbell, in 
1812. 

It should be noted that in making 
historical reference we are not judging 
the sincerity or the goodness of our 
Christian brethren of any name nor 
passing upon their characters. Either 
they were, or they were not, estab- 
lished by our Lord's Apostles at His 
command. The date of organization, 
or the name of the founder shows 
whether they were or were not so or- 
dained. 

The conclusion must then be that 
they are not in communion with the 
New Testament Church of Christ, and 



82 



are not in possession of the unchange- 
able ministry, creed, sacraments and 
liturgy of that Church. 

Furthermore, without any show of 
reasoning it is only fair to state that if 
any man, however religious he may be, 
has an undoubted right to establish a 
Church, every other man has an equal 
right. If John Robinson, and John 
Calvin, and John Wesley, and Martin 
Luther were so privileged, so also was 
Joseph Smith of the Mormons, and 
Mrs. Eddy, and John Alexander Dowie. 

The chief points held by every one of 
the religious bodies are all possessed 
as a whole by the Church of Christ. Is 
there an emphasis laid upon the pres- 
byterate? That is found in its truest 
sense in the Apostolic Ministry. Is 
baptism the question? The Church 
echoes her Master's voice and says, 
"Except any one be baptized he can- 
not see the Kingdom of God." Is 
method or conversion insisted upon? 
The orderliness of the Church is one 
of her chiefest charms, and she com- 
pels her children to constantly pray 



83 



fora "godly, righteous, and sober life." 
Does one preach the Kingdom of God? 
The Church is that Kingdom. Can it 
be that one emphasizes the power of 
the unseen over the visible? Our 
Lord says, "The words I speak unto 
you are the Spirit and Life." The 
Church, His Kingdom, gives assent. 
She says, in Baptism you are born of 
the Spirit: in the Holy Communion 
you are fed with the spiritual Body 
and Blood of Christ. Is the healing of 
the sick in question? God gave His 
Apostles the power, and the ministry 
of the Apostolic Church are constantly 
healing the sick at God's command, 
without money and without price. 

To the bewildered and unsatisfied 
ones among the Christian denomina- 
tions the Church offers much in addi- 
tion to that which they possess, and 
will, through the Spirit of God, lead 
the honest seeker for truth into all 
the truth as it has been revealed in 
and through Jesus Christ and by the 
Holy Ghost. 



84 



GHfapter I. 

How does conscience testify of God? 

What is the argument from created 
things? 

Recall the camel story. 

What personal revelation of Him- 
self has God made? 

What is a Christian? 

Give some proofs of the real exist- 
ence of Christ. 

Why is not Unitarianism Christian? 

What results if Joseph was the 
father of Christ? 

flUfaptfr 3. 

State a reason for Christ's coming. 
What was the subject of His para- 
bles? 

State the difference between the 
Protestant and Bible theories of the 
Church. 

Briefly explain the parables of the 
mustard seed, the leaven, the dragnet. 

<Elja;pt*r 4. 

When was Christ's Kingdom estab- 
lished? 



8.5 



Where? 

How were believers admitted unto 

it? 

Name its four distinctive marks. 

What requirements are necessary to 
prove existence of Kingdom to-day? 
How did it find its way to Britain? 
When was it brought to America? 
What is Apostolic Succession? 

Define the word Reformation and 
state its historical value. 

How did the Roman Church acquire 
control of England? 

How was it thrown off? 

Prove that Henry VIII could not 
have founded the Church. 

Give argument from the Church's 
name as additional proof. 

What is the only door of admission 
into the Kingdom of God? 

Cite examples from the experience 
of our Lord and His Apostles. 



86 



What is the valid form of baptism? 
State the position of baptized per- 
sons who are living outside the Church. 

Chapter 

What is Confirmation? 

Recall three places in the New Tes- 
tament where it is emphasized. 

Why is it not practiced by Protestant 
denominations? 

How should the question of age, re- 
specting confirmation, be settled? 

What spiritual food has Christ pro- 
vided in his Kingdom? 

State the teachings of our Lord re- 
garding it. 

In what words did our Lord com- 
mand it? 

Give the four titles under which 
it is commonly designated. 

Chapter 1DL 

Name the officers of the kingdom 
of God. 

How are they different from the 
Protestant ministers? 



87 



What was the threefold order in the 
Jewish Church? 

What is Apostolic Succession and 
its value? 

flUjapkr 11. 

How does the Apostles' Creed differ 
from modern confessions of faith? 

Give meaning of "He descended into 
hell." 

Also, The Holy Catholic Church, the 
Communion of Saints. 
When are sins forgiven? 

Chapter 12. 

What are the laws of the Kingdom 
of God? 

How are they different from human 
laws? 

What does violation of them entail? 
State difference between these and 
denominational discipline. 

adaptor 13. 

What purpose is the Bible intended 
to serve? 

Why cannot a church be founded on 
the Bible? 



S8 



Prove that the Church existed be- 
fore the Bible. 

When and how was the Bible offi- 
cially given to the world? 

QUjapter 14. 

How and why did we obtain the 
prayer of the Kingdom ? 

State how we have Divine approval 
of forms of prayer. 

How do we find our duty towards 
God and our neighbor expressed in the 
Lord's Prayer? 

Give brief interpretations of the pe- 
titions. 

(S^apter 15. 

Why does the Roman Church deny 
the Catholicity of the so-called Episco- 
pal Church? 

How does Holy Scripture show that 
all the Apostles had equal power? 

Who was the head of the council in 
Jerusalem? 

Who called and presided at the 
Council of Nicea, 325? 

What did Gregory I., say about a 
universal bishop? 



S9 



When did papal assumption reach 
its height? 

When was the doctrine of Papal In- 
fallibility officially promulgated? 

Chapter IB. 

What importance has a date relative 
to our Christian society? 

Give the dates of origin of some 
Protestant denominations. 

What conclusions must then be 
reached? 

Prove that the Church possesses the 
emphasized point of every leading de- 
nomination. 

What is the duty, then, of every one 
not in full communion with the Church 
of Christ? 



90 



Exptattatorg Kppmbxx 



IfragtrB GDui of a Hook 



HE book of Common Prayer was 



A first printed in the English lan- 
guage in 1549. It was compiled from 
the various liturgies which had been in 
use from the time of the Apostles. 
During the earliest days these were in 
the Greek language and later in the 
Latin. English people could not well 
participate in a Latin service, so the 
English book, expurgated of medi- 
aeval error was bestowed upon the 
Church. 

If the people are to participate in 
prayer "with the spirit and under- 
standing also" the prayers must be in 
a book. In various denominations 
gradual attempts are being made to 
have a form of service. These are 
often printed and distributed so that 
the people may take intelligent part. 
How much better if all the prayers — 
those prayers which are the pious peti- 
tions of the learned saints of the Church 
during many centuries could be used 
unitedly by all. 




93 



The Jewish Church had a liturgy 
and the early Christian Church had 
"the prayers.' ' (Acts 2:42) revised 
version or Greek. 

That prayer which the Blessed Lord 
gave his disciples, which is the prayer 
every Christian child is taught early in 
life, and the prayer more largely used 
than any other, that one called the 
Lord's Prayer, is a prayer out of a book. 

Common prayer is as great an essen- 
tial in public worship as Common 
Praise, and it is equally impractical 
to unitedly sing extemporaneous hymns 
as it is to unitedly pray extemporane- 
ous prayers. In fact the well known 
hymns are largely prayers set to rhyme. 
"Rock of Ages cleft for me, Let me 
hide myself in Thee," or "Jesus lover 
of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly." 

We have prayers out of a book be- 
cause it has always been the custom of 
the Church, because Christ our Lord 
approved it, and because common 
prayer is impossible without it. 



U4 



3$lyg Uror 3Uit»a or HwtmntiH? 



T3ECAUSE they are of divine order- 
ing. When Moses, by God's 
special command, established God's 
Church for the Israelites, by command 
sacred vestments were made for, and 
worn by, the ministers thereof. Sol- 
diers in the army wear uniforms, and 
the officers of various grades are desig- 
nated by some marked difference in 
those uniforms. 

Bishops, priests and deacons are 
known and marked by their vestments. 
Vestments eliminate worldly distinc- 
tions. The poorest clergyman who 
may wear the cheapest clothing, be- 
cause it is the best he can afford, is not 
different from his richer brother clothed 
in broadcloth, during the worship of 
Almighty God in His Church, for the 
vestments shut out the world's esti- 
mate and gradation. As a matter of 
interest, if one cares to read the Book 
of the Revelation of St. John the Di- 
vine, it will be noted that all the re- 



95 



deemed in heaven are clothed in white 
robes. 

The usual vestments of the clergy 
are the cassock, the surplice, and the 
stole. Eucharistic vestments, worn at 
the celebration of the Holy Commun- 
ion are the Amice, Alb, Girdle, Stole, 
Maniple, and Chasuble. 

It is quite customary to wear vest- 
ments of different colors for different 
seasons. This is even more general 
with stoles, altar hangings, book mark- 
ers. The colors are usually white, red, 
violet or purple and green. White is 
the symbol of joy and is worn at great 
festivals, such as Easter and Christ- 
mas. Red is worn upon Pentecost and 
feasts of martyrs, because it symbol- 
izes the fire of the Spirit and the blood 
of the martyrs. Violet is the peniten- 
tial color, and appropriate to Advent 
and Lent which are seasons of peni- 
tence. Green, the color of nature, 
is worn upon ordinary days and sea- 
sons. 



96 



QBJECTIONS are often raised 
against the frequent change of 
posture in the services of the Church, 
yet these different positions are but 
three, standing, kneeling, sitting. 

The Church believes that the God 
who created body, mind and spirit 
should be worshipped with the whole 
personality, hence while the spirit in 
aspiration worships God, and the mind 
is enabled through a liturgy to perform 
the same service, so the body should 
render its due. 

We stand to praise God, in the 
hymns and psalms of the Church; we 
kneel when we pray to Him (and the 
word kneel certainly affirms the use of 
the knees not of the head or the back) ; 
we sit when we listen to him in His 
word, the Holy Bible, or to the sermon 
which is the explanation of His word 
and its application to daily life. 

No well bred person moving in or- 
dinary refined society ignores the so- 
cial customs which are often the hon- 



97 



oring of another by the use of the 
body. Who would remain sitting while 
being presented to a person of honor? 
Who would assume a haughty de- 
meanor while begging a favor? Who 
would be indifferent when addressed? 
Surely if no well meaning and cour- 
teous person would omit these com- 
mon laws of social demeanor in or- 
dinary contact, why should any one 
object to these corresponding customs 
when in touch with the King of Kings 
and Lord of Lords? 



/ T*HE design of the first Church 
A building of God was made by 
the Divine architect, God Himself; 
therefore buildings conforming to His 
plan must be best, both for the edi- 
fication of the worshiper and the 
pleasing of the worshiper's God. 

The tabernacle was the first Church 
building for the worship of Jehovah. 
It was divided into three parts, gener- 
ally specified as the (1) Court of the 
people, (2) The Holy Place, or Court 
of the Priests, and (3) The Holy of 
Holies. In the first the people were 
assembled, in the second the priests 
performed their various offices, in the 
third, where was kept the ark of the 
Covenant, the High Priest alone offi- 
ciated. When the Temple of Solomon 
was builded the same division was kept 
intact. 

In the Christian Church this three- 
fold division is still perpetuated in (1) 
the Nave, the court of the people; (2) 
the Chancel, the court of the priests, 

LOfC. 99 



and assisting ministers, i. e., the choir; 
(3) the Sanctuary, where the Altar, the 
Ark of the Christian Covenant is placed 
at which the priest alone officiates. 

It is very appropriate that a rostrum 
should be the center of thought and 
vision in a lecture room, and that the 
organ and singers shall be most prom- 
inent in a hall of music; but in a 
Christian Church where the sacrifice of 
Christ, and His glory through sacrifice, 
are taught as the chief factors of religion, 
the pulpit should stand on one side, 
and the organ upon the other, while the 
center vision is the Altar. 



100 



(glflflaarg of % 3Forf going Switgtu 



T> EREDOS — That portion in the 
rear of altar, either of stone or 
wood. If of woven material it is 
called a dossal. 

Gradines — The shelves in rear of 
Altar sometimes used for Cross, flowers 
and candles. 

Predella — Where the priest stands 
for Celebration of the Holy Communion. 

Deacon and Sub-deacon — The as- 
sisting ministers. 

Piscina — Where the sacred vessels 
are cleansed. 

Credence — The shelf where the ele- 
ments of bread and wine are placed 
before consecration. Also the Alms 
Basons. 

Sedilia — The seats for the clergy.* 
Decani and Cantoris — The two sides 
of the Choir, so designated for musical 
purposes, and corresponding to the 
Deans' Choir, and the Precentors' Choir, 
in Cathedral Churches. 

*A custom recently grown up of placing a bishop's chair 
in the sanctuary is modern and incorrect. The proper place 
fo a bishop's chair is his Cathedral, for the bishop's chair 
makes it his Cathedral Church. Hence in a correctly fur- 
nished parish Church no bishop's chair will be found. 



103 



Rood Screen — The Screen at the en- 
trance to the chancel, usually sur- 
mounted by "the rood," the Cross of 
Christ. 

Pulpit — The place for the delivery 
of the sermon. 

Lecturn — The repository for the Holy 
Bible from which the appointed lections 
or selections of the Holy Scriptures 
are read. 

Epistle Aisle — That side of the 
Church upon which the Epistle is read 
at the Celebrations. 

Gospel Aisle — That side of the Church 
from which at the Altar the Holy 
Gospel is read. 



104 



Ufa? 

TlfHY are processional hymns sung? 
* ^ To allow the choir to reverently 
enter and depart from the chancel. 

Why is reverence made to the pro- 
cessional cross? For the same reason 
that we salute our Country's Flag. 

Why do people bow toward the 
Altar? Because that is the place of 
our Lord's presence. 

Why do the clergy and choir face 
the Altar at the Creed? In order that 
all may face the same way by the 
same Faith, and as the Altar is tech- 
nically the East, so we face toward 
the rising sun which is symbolical of 
the coming of Christ. 

Why are candles placed on the Altar? 
For beauty and adornment and teach- 
ing purposes. The two Eucharistic 
lights teach Christ, the Light of the 
world and His two natures, the human 
and divine. 



105 



What is the Church's position to- 
wards the Protestant denominations? 
One of love and regret. Love, because 
all sincere work for our Blessed Lord 
should evoke a spirit of love. Regret 
because they do not add to their per- 
sonal goodness, the blessings of obedi- 
ent life in Communion with the King- 
dom of God on earth. 

Do the Protestants possess an Apos- 
tolic Ministry? Assuredly not. Their 
origin and life have been confined to 
the years since the fifteenth century, 
and consequently they could not have 
had contact with the earliest Apostles 
of the Lord. 

The Methodist Episcopal denomina- 
tion has bishops, what of them? No 
one claims that the Methodists existed 
before John Wesley, who lived and 
died a Churchman. But in his dotage 
he laid his hands upon the head of 
Thomas Coke, making him Superin- 
tendent of Methodist missions. Coke 
was afterwards called a bishop and 



106 



many of their ministers have been 
called bishops until this day. 

Charles Wesley, the brother of John, 
showed his conception of this acquired 
title and office, and also the impossibil- 
ity of John possessing power to convey 
the Episcopate, when he said : 
"How easily are bishops made, 
By man's or woman's whim; 
Wesley his hands on Coke hath laid, 
But who laid hands on him?" 



107 



XITTE frequently hear that it is sur- 
* * prising to find the Church called 
Episcopal making such claims to its 
Divine origin and life, when it is one of 
the smallest of Churches. 

This statement, if uttered, shows 
complete ignorance of the facts upon 
the part of the speaker. The follow- 
ing figures are selected from a source 
which cannot be called partisan or pre- 
judiced, for they are quoted from the 
New York World Almanac " English 
speaking religious communities of the 
World. " 

Episcopalians, 29,200,000. 

^Methodists (all descriptions), 18,- 
650,000. 

Roman Catholics, 15,500,000. 

{Presbyterians (all descriptions), 
12,250,000. 

f Baptists (all descriptions), 9,230,000. 
Congregationalists (all descriptions), 
6,150,000. 

§Lutherans (all descriptions), 2,800,- 
000. 

*17 kinds in the United States. J12 kinds. |13 kinds. §32 kinds. 
108 



TVTEVER allow a Sunday to pass 
^ without attendance upon the pub- 
lic worship of the Church and endeavor 
to take one other person with you. 
If possible, begin the day with attend- 
ance at the Holy Communion. Ab- 
sence from Church on Sunday without 
real cause, violates the fourth com- 
mandment, robs God of the honor due 
to Him, sets an evil example to the 
world, and helps in a measure to de- 
stroy the Lord's day as a Christian 
institution. 



109 



/ T S HIS does not refer to the payment 
of business obligations, but of 
living honest towards God. All that 
you have is His. He graciously gave 
it unto "you and also the ability to 
obtain it. He asks the return of 
a portion for His work and the wel- 
fare of men. 

No man, woman or child is dealing 
honestly with God who does not give 
money in proportion to their posses- 
sions. Women hide under the shelter 
of the husband's duty, and the child 
under the parent's performance of the 
same. But it is a moral and individual 
duty. You cannot be baptized or 
confirmed for another, neither can you 
exercise the virtue of honesty for 
another. In proportion every indi- 
vidual must render his dues to the 
Lord. 



no 



TT is the bounden duty of every 
one to labor and to pray for the 
conversion of others. No Christian 
can remain such, in real significance, if 
he is not always making an endeavor 
to bring some soul into the Kingdom. 

In mixed families there is often such 
opportunity. Your friends in the so- 
cial circle where you move offer many 
opportunities. This is decidedly, and 
really, missionary work. Evidently 
the mission of the American Church 
is first, to bring Americans into union 
with Christ, through His Church. This 
can be done by personal effort and 
organized efforts in missionary enter- 
prises. Then our duty leads us beyond 
the seas that the Sun of Righteousness 
may shine everywhere. 

If men would plead for Christ as 
they plead for political parties and 
principles; if women would be as 
greatly interested in the Kingdom of 
God as in social and literary affairs; 
the Kingdom of God would go forward 
with leaps and bounds amazingly. 



111 



Work. 



HpHE rector of a parish is only its 
leader. The parishioners must 
follow in lines of work for which they 
are best fitted. No one is doing duty 
who is not working in some way for the 
parish Church. A bishop once said, "In 
every parish are three classes of people, 
the workers, the jerkers, and the 
shirkers. " Not very elegant, but sadly 
true, to the discredit of the second, 
the shame of the third. 

One cannot conceive of a real Chris- 
tian who lives to be worked for and 
never works for others. 



112 



3am in % &ttb\tt. 



LMOST the first petition in the 



- 1 * Prayer Book is, "O Lord open 
Thou our lips." Many attendants 
at service prevent the Lord from an- 
swering this prayer by keeping their 
lips sealed all through the service. 
Join audibly in the petitions. Say the 
"Amens" as though you meant them. 
Sing the hymns as though you en- 
joyed them. 

What a terrible experience it is to 
worship in a frigid Church where no 
one speaks above a whisper and where 
the choir does all the singing. Such 
is not a winning Church. It is not a 
growing Church. It is not a mission- 
ary Church. 

The missionary spirit needs warmth 
and an enthusiastic atmosphere around 
it. Otherwise it is frozen to death. 
Join in the services heartily. 




113 



TlfHEN entering the Church kneel 
Y * down and say: 

Lord, I am now in Thy House . Keep 
my heart from evil affections, my 
mind from wandering thoughts, and 
grant that I may fervently worship 
Thee in Spirit and in truth. Bless 
him who offers the sacrifice of prayer 
and praise in this house, and to him 
who shall speak in Thy Name grant 
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 
May all who worship here render ac- 
ceptable service, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

At the conclusion of service say: 

Accept, O Lord, the service which I 
have offered in Thy Name, and forgive 
all its imperfections, for Christ's sake. 

Amen. 

Grace before meals : 

" Bless, O Lord, these Thy gifts to our 
use, and us in Thy service, for Jesus 
Christ's sake . ' ' Amen . 
or 



114 



"Be present at our table, Lord, 
Be here and everywhere adored; 
These creatures bless, and grant that 
we 

May feast in Paradise with Thee." 

Amen. 

or 

"God is great, God is good, 
And we thank Him for this food; 
By His hand we all are fed, 
Give us this day our daily bread. " 

Amen. 

or 

"Sanctify, Heavenly Father, these gifts 
of Thy hand to our use and by them 
fit us for Thy loving service. " Amen. 



115 



$lr*paratum for tlj* Tjfohj 
(EommuttUm* 



HIS service, which the Church 



A appoints for every Sunday and 
Holy Day at least, is the highest priv- 
ilege of the Christian. It should be 
the ideal of every soul to be then present 
every Lord's Day. Some simple sug- 
gestions are here offered which if fol- 
lowed will render it more reverent and 
beneficial than it would be otherwise 
Make a careful preparation. Kneel 
down and say, "Almighty God, unto 
whom all hearts are open and from 
whom no secrets are hid. Cleanse the 
thoughts of my heart by the inspira- 
tion of Thy Holy Spirit that I may 
perfectly love Thee and worthily mag- 
nify Thy Holy Name, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen." 

Then upon your knees examine your 
conscience taking each one of the ten 
commandments separately and asking 
yourself how you have sinned against 
God in thought, word, and deed. 
Having thoroughly examined your 




116 



conscience, then ask God's forgiveness 
in some such words at the following: 
"I confess to God the Father Al- 
mighty, to God the Son, and to God 
the Holy Ghost, in the sight of the 
whole company of heaven, that I have 
sinned exceedingly in thought, word, 
and deed, especially (here recall your 
sins) wherefore I humbly beseech God 
the Father Almighty, His only Son 
Jesus Christ our Lord, and God the 
Holy Ghost, to have mercy upon me 
and to forgive me, to grant me true 
repentance and amendment of life." 

Amen. 

If by these means you cannot quiet 
your conscience, go at once to your 
rector for advice and counsel. 

When you come to the Church to 
make your Communion, come expect- 
antly and make every part of the ser- 
vice your very own. When you go 
forward to the Altar rail say, "I am 
not worthy, Lord, that Thou should 
enter under my roof, but speak the 
word and Thy servant shall be healed. " 

Upon reaching the Altar rail (having 



117 



previously removed your gloves) kneel 
upright and place the right hand in 
the palm of your left to receive the 
consecrated species, and then raise it 
reverently to your lips. When the 
Chalice is administered, guide it rev- 
erently to your hps. 

At the proper time return to your 
place and make a Thanksgiving. If 
there are many communicants receiv- 
ing, do not gaze about the Church, but 
open your hymnal and meditate upon 
the hymns for Holy Communion, or 
upon some of the psalms in the Prayer 
Book till all have communicated. 

Do not neglect to make a Thanks- 
giving after you have reached your 
home. 



118 



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